Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on KALU. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kaiser Aluminum from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Kaiser Aluminum from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Kaiser Aluminum in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $176.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Kaiser Aluminum from $170.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Kaiser Aluminum from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.50.

Kaiser Aluminum Trading Up 4.5%

Shares of KALU opened at $195.63 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Kaiser Aluminum has a 1-year low of $71.44 and a 1-year high of $195.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $177.84 and a 200 day moving average of $144.41.

Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $1.78. Kaiser Aluminum had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $948.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Kaiser Aluminum will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kaiser Aluminum news, SVP Iulian Gheorghe sold 175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.22, for a total value of $30,488.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,930.56. This represents a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Neal E. West sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.29, for a total value of $866,450.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,091 shares in the company, valued at $3,308,279.39. This represents a 20.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 71,731 shares of company stock worth $12,529,097. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kaiser Aluminum

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KALU. PVG Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 331.9% during the 1st quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 8,374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 6,435 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Kaiser Aluminum by 3.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 76,781 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kaiser Aluminum by 107.2% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 0.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 171,369 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,652,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Kaiser Aluminum by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

About Kaiser Aluminum

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation is a U.S.-based producer of semi‐fabricated aluminum products, serving a diverse range of industrial and specialty markets. The company’s offerings include extruded, rolled, and forged aluminum products designed to meet stringent performance requirements in sectors such as aerospace, automotive, defense, electronics, and general engineering. By focusing on high‐value applications, Kaiser Aluminum aims to deliver lightweight, durable solutions that contribute to efficiency and innovation across its customer base.

Operationally, Kaiser Aluminum maintains a network of smelters, extrusion plants, and rolling mills located primarily in North America.